Fire chief: Checks are in the mail

Some residents in the Mt. Olive fire district could be receiving checks in the mail as soon as today.

The Mt. Olive Fire Department mailed almost $30,000 worth of refund checks on Friday.

The department’s board of trustees had adopted an ordinance to increase fire dues fees starting in October 2009, as allowed under Act 79 of the special state legislature of 1966. The board later withdrew the ordinance after learning about a technicality that prevents it, according to Fire Chief Chip Cousins.

Cousins said that when the fire department was formed in 1981, someone in the fire district requested the Jefferson County Commission describe fire dues as a tax.

“That means the county commission has to approve it. They have to handle our money out here … No other fire district in Jefferson County does it like that,” Cousins said.

“It was the smart thing and the right thing to go ahead and give the refund now,” Cousins added. “Until we get it figured out and do it the right way, the board felt like they should give back the increase.”

Cousins said no one at the county commission office, including the county attorney, knows why the fee is described as a tax.

“There are no records in the county commission minutes requesting it,” he said. In addition, Cousins said, requesting the “tax” terminology is not mentioned in fire department board of trustees minutes since the department was formed in 1981.

But since it is so called, the board of trustees agreed to refund the increase to people the department bills directly.

“In order for us to raise a tax, we would have to go before the people and have it voted on,” said board of trustees president Jerry Graham.

Some property owners pay fire dues to the county, totaling 1 percent of assessed value of property. The county then turns the funds over to the fire department.

However, the department collects fire dues directly from residents in two categories: Those who are tax-exempt because of age, disability or other criteria, and those who live in manufactured homes.

It is those residents, who pay annual fire dues directly to the department, who will be receiving refunds.

Refunds will total anything paid over $20, unless there are late fees or penalties, Cousins said.

The board of trustees had increased fire dues from $20 to $80 for residents who live in manufactured homes; and from $20 to $60 for those who were tax-exempt. The dues have now gone back to $20 a year since the board rescinded the ordinance.

Graham said the department collects approximately $370,000 a year in fire dues.

“The fire business is very expensive,” he said. “We’re trying to keep a good department for the community and for the people who work there.”

Cousins said the current fire dues help maintain equipment and services as they exist now. There has been no fire dues increase at the Mt. Olive department since 1981.

“Without those increases, we could see a decrease in services, especially medical,” he said. “If you’re going to be in it and give care, you want to give the best care that’s out there.”

The Mt. Olive fire district covers 29 square miles. There are currently 36 firefighters and medical personnel, including six paid staff members. Cousins said there are two paid members who staff each shift.